Endangered
by HenryWinter
Summary: Local youths have been disappearing, but with The Doctor and Rose trying to solve the mystery the true measure of the situation quickly becomes apparent, finding the culprits is only the beginning and things rapidly start to spiral out of their control.


_**This story may contain content not suitable for younger readers; I recommend it for mature, adult readers only as it will become a little graphic in later chapters. **_

_I've never written before, but I'm a student with a lot of spare time and I thought I might give it a go. The characters aren't of my creation, nor is Doctor Who, so I apologise for any inconsistencies. _

**Chapter One**  
Mud, Swimming and Mystery

The streets of the small city of Maroochydore were quiet as the weak autumn sun slowly rose over the low buildings, bringing with it little relief from the chill of the night. Occasionally a car or motorbike could be heard making its way through the urban streets, drowning out the distant sounds of birdsong and the sea crashing against the sand and rock of the headland located somewhere beyond the low border of buildings.

Maroochydore itself was not large, and could hardly be considered a city at all, consisting mostly of residential houses, apartments and shops. Only a small handful of the buildings stood taller than three stories, and almost all of those were dedicated to holiday accommodation for tourists. Being bordered on one side by a winding river and on another by the pristine beaches this particular section of the Australian coastline was well known for, it was considered an attractive area and drew decent numbers of tourists throughout the year.

It was just as the sun first peaked over the distant hills that the calm morning atmosphere was interrupted by an alien grinding noise that seemed to originate from everywhere and nowhere all at once. As this noise grew ever louder, a faint light appeared in a small clearing within a densely planted parkland close to the centre of town. This light faded gently in and out of existence, in time with the alien grinding. Gradually, a large wooden box began to take shape below the light, it's outline growing ever more visible with each repeated appearance until it stood as solid as any of the trees that surrounded it, planted firmly on the sparse, recently clipped grass and crushing the thick, waxy blades into the damp soil. The noise ceased with this final appearance on it's loudest note, the sound of the universe fading into the morning hush while the box that accompanied it remained, a brilliant blue figure standing with silent, unmoving pride in the dappled morning light.

It was within this box, in an impossibly large room that a lone man sat quietly playing with a small pen like device and generally trying to appear busy. Ancient sounds echoed off the organic, living heart of the machine, the sound waves vibrating through the cavernous space, and bouncing off the curved structures that protruded from the rounded walls. Soft green light shone outwards from a central console, illuminating the circular room with its gentle hues.

The seat on which this lone man sat was located next to this control structure, his slim frame leaning into the old, well worn material as he stared intensely at the glowing console before him. He appeared to be intently studying every knob, switch and mismatched component of the strangely beautiful structure. His thick, brown eyebrows met in a focused frown as he waited in silence for his companion to appear.

The woman in question entered at that moment, her white trainers slightly rattling the metal grating of the floor with each gentle step. A cheeky smile crept across her kind face and her warm brown eyes sparkled with glee as she approached the man on the seat. She was somewhat shorter than him, reaching no higher than five and a half feet to his six. A gentle curtain of soft blonde hair fell about her face in layers, the longer strands reaching no further than her shoulders.

'Where are we?' Rose asked cheerfully. 'Second moon of some lost planet somewhere?'

'I'll have you know Rose Tyler that we are exactly where I said we'd go. We're at the beach' the man, known as The Doctor responded as he sprang to his feet and turned to face her.

'Yeah' Rose responded, licking her lips as she came to a halt a few feet away. 'You say that now, but what am I going to see when I walk out that door, a desert?'

'Rose, you have no faith in me. I always get us to where we're needed don't I?'

She watched him quietly as he grabbed is brown trench coat from the curved structure it had been flung across the previous evening.

'Yeah, but that's not the same thing as taking me where you say we'll go' she joked happily, now inching towards the wooden door.

'Have you got your swimming clothes?'The Doctor asked, one eyebrow raised as he watched her not so subtle progress towards the door.

'Yes, and I've put sunscreen on' Rose responded, rolling her eyes a little and pulling the neck of her light blue t-shirt down her shoulder to reveal the straps of a black swimsuit that contrasted against her creamy skin.

The Doctor swallowed nervously from his place next to the console and moved quickly towards the doorway, trying to avoid the temptation to look back at her exposed shoulder.

'Come on then, let's go before it gets too hot'

Rose giggled as she rushed to catch up with him. 'So you said it was a beach, but where exactly is it?'

'The east coast of Australia' he stated, pausing in the open doorway to answer her.

Rose slipped out under The Doctors extended, pinstripe clad arm and stepped gingerly into the clearing beyond the doorway. She sighed as her new trainers sank slightly into the dark, springy soil, dislodging several blades of grass. She looked around in the early morning light as The Doctor stepped out next to her and closed the wooden door behind him.

'Beach huh?' Rose asked cheekily, pushing the tip of her tongue into her teeth as she looked over at him. 'All I see is trees'

'Complain all you like, there's a beach around here somewhere'

The Doctor gave her a quick exasperated glance as he gazed around the small clearing they had found themselves in and ambled up the only path leading away from the shade of the trees. She followed along a few paces behind him as he strode up the steep, narrow gap between the lush trees. As she was nearing the top of the incline she lost her footing on the damp soil The Doctor had disturbed and she slipped forwards, her knee and palms pressing into the soft soil. She struggled to maintain her balance for several moments, sliding backwards down the slope as she tried to regain her footing. The Doctors hand appeared before her eyes, reaching out for her elbow and carefully pulling her into an upright position once more.

'Having trouble?'

'Alright, no need to laugh Doctor' she grumbled.

Rose caught The Doctor failing to suppress a chuckle as she reached the top of the short, but steep incline and scowled at him.

'There's a street up here, looks like a nice neighbourhood' he said nervously, looking at her ruined jeans and shoes.

She laughed as she tried in vain to brush the mud from her right knee with her dirty palms. 'You always take me to the nicest places'

'Quiet Rose, you don't want to wake the neighbourhood'. The Doctor scorned as he watched her with a raised eyebrow. 'What were you doing down there anyway, having a mud bath?'

'Quiet yourself' Rose grumbled, glancing back towards the shadowy path they had just navigated with a frown gracing her gentle face. 'What's the idea landing in a muddy little patch of trees anyway? There's plenty of space up here' she teased, putting the fall behind her.

The Doctor peered at her for a moment, seeming to consider his answer. 'It's not a car Rose, time machines are harder to park. Did you want to go to the beach or not? Because we can always go back to the TARDIS...'

'We've already come this far, I'm not giving up on my relaxing day at the beach all that easily. Which way to the water all knowing Time Lord?'

The Doctor looked up and down the quiet street, his hands shoved into the pockets of his brown pinstripe suit. Rose watched him in silence, grinning as his eyebrows met in a confused frown. She glanced around herself and noted the neat lawns and wooden or brick houses of a typical suburban street on Earth. Across the wide street from them was a green park, with a small collection of children's play equipment clustered together in the far corner. The only distinguishing factors she could isolate about the neighbourhood were the white and maroon number plates on cars parked in the driveways that scattered the street, and a cluster of tall, spindly trees centred in the middle of the park which she suspected may be eucalyptus trees. She was now almost certain that The Doctor had indeed, landed them in Australia, on Earth.

She was distracted from her analysis of their surroundings by The Doctor's announcement that the beach was only a few blocks away, beyond what looked like the car park of a large shopping complex. She smiled as he took her hand in his and lead her towards the faint sound of waves crashing to shore, a comfort that she enjoyed more than she would dare to admit.

'So, I know where we are, but _when _are we?' Rose asked as they wandered down yet another urban street, hand in hand as the sun shone down brightly on the freshly mown lawns and shining cars around them.

The Doctor gave her a warm smile and looked around them as though he needed to confirm the date from their surroundings. 'January fifteenth, two thousand and twelve' he responded.

'Same year as Chloe and her drawings?'

'And the Dalek in Utah' he reminded her softly.

They walked along in companionable silence for another five minutes before they reached the beach. It was now well into the morning, and Rose noticed that the locals were beginning to appear here and there, going about their daily business.

The beach was still relatively quiet, with only a few early morning surfers dotting the pristine water and a couple walking their excited dog further down the headland. Rose took in the white sand, salty air and clear, aqua coloured ocean with a contented sigh.

'Oh Doctor, it's beautiful!' she exclaimed in delight.

'Thought you deserved a break from running' The Doctor said softly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. 'I know we've done a lot of it lately'.

'It's perfect' she giggled, releasing his hand and taking off the muddy jeans and t-shirt to reveal the simple black bikini she had worn underneath. 'Don't suppose we could go shopping after this?' she asked, looking at the muddy pile of clothes in dismay and dropping her shoes on top.

'Don't push it Tyler' he answered with a slight laugh as he carefully removed his suit to reveal a pair of TARDIS blue swimming shorts. Rose had to avert her gaze to avoid staring at his bare, pale chest. She searched her mind for any form of distraction that would avoid and awkward silence for several moments.

'Come on, race you to the water!' She shouted as she took off across the soft, warm sand towards the crystal ocean.

'Rose!' The Doctor called after her like a mother scolding their child as he placed his suit and coat on top of his shoes. 'Between the red and yellow flags if you don't want to drown!'

Rose heard him and stopped short in the sand, looking around for the flags he had mentioned. Sighting them a few metres to her left she took off once more, wanting to beat him into the large surf. To her disappointment the few seconds she had lost looking for the flags had given The Doctor the advantage he needed and he raced past her, winning the race to the water by several feet.

They spent most of the day at the beach, leaving the water late in the afternoon due to sheer exhaustion on Roses part. She was tired beyond measure by that time and stumbled up the beach, each step taking great effort. She noted, miserably that The Doctor was as bouncy as ever, and sprang along beside her, clearly enjoying himself immensely.

The beach was crowded now, and they had a hard time locating their clothes among the bags, umbrellas and towels that scattered the sand. Rose was concerned that the small pile of garments may have been stolen or remain misplaced indefinitely, but The Doctor located it after only a few minutes of searching. It had been concealed behind a group of five twenty-somethings, who were busy burying one of their own in the sand.

As The Doctor wandered away to find a place to change, Rose sat a few feet away from the group, having chosen to remain in her swimwear over donning the muddy clothes. She watched their laughter with mild interest, remembering Shareen, Keisha, Mickey and the others in her own small group of friends back in her own time. She wondered aimlessly where they might be now, almost six years from where she had come from. _Maybe one of them gets married or has children._ She thought. _Maybe all of them do._

'Want to join us?' one of the two girls in the group asked, looking over at her in a kind manner.

Rose was taken aback by her friendly nature and came over to speak with them figuring that, at the least it would be a way to pass the time until The Doctor chose to return from wherever he had gone.

'What's your name?' the girl asked happily. Rose noticed a brilliant blue stud pierced into the left side of her nose. Blonde hair sat in a pixie cut around her freckled face.

'Rose' she answered, feeling slightly uneasy.

'I'm Kim' she responded, smiling and brushing her wavy, blonde hair from her face. 'The big guy with the glasses is Nate'

She gestured towards a large man with short cropped brown hair and a happy smile, the square glasses perched on his nose showed kind, hazel eyes through their frames. The phrase 'gentle giant' came to mind as Rose looked him over.

'The skinny guy is Dan' Kim stated, this time she pointed towards a cheerful man with a goofy smile, who was as tall as the first, but half as wide.

Rose noticed almost instantly that his hair was the same colour as The Doctors, but not as long or carefully kept.

'The guy in the sand is Mike' Kim said, gesturing a handsome man with icy blue eyes and a mess of dark hair. 'And the last ones Hannah, she's from the UK, like you'.

'I'm Nate's cousin'. Hannah added in a soft voice.

'So you're English?' Rose asked, as Hanna watched her with curious green eyes.

'Sort of' Mike answered for her. 'She's been living here with her aunt and uncle for six years'

The group seemed to go quiet then, and Rose gathered that there was something about Hannah's time in this country that had gone unsaid.

Mike seemed to notice this and spoke up for Hannah again. 'She has to go back to the UK next week. Her parents don't want her staying here with all of the shit that's been going on'.

The Doctor appeared again at that moment, clad once more in his brown pinstripe suit and long coat. He handed Rose a strawberry ice cream cone and knelt down in the sand between her and the forlorn youths.

'Language please' he commented, leaning closer to Mike and taking a careful lick of his own chocolate cone. 'Now what's been going on that makes her parents think she isn't safe here?'

'The disappearances' Kim piped up from her place sitting next to Rose, as she rose onto her knees.

'You didn't know about the people going missing?' Nate asked with a frown.

'Afraid not' The Doctor responded. Rose noticed him give each member of the young group a quick glance. 'We've only just arrived'

'They think it's a murder' Mike commented sadly, sitting up and causing the sand that had been piled upon him to cascade to the ground.

'They haven't found any bodies though' Hannah added hopefully, placing a hand on his knee.

'Where did these disappearances happen?' The Doctor asked, giving Rose a look she knew all too well.

'The Plaza' the group responded in unison.

'Always at The Plaza, and always on late night' Dan murmured.

'Late night?' Rose asked.

'Tonight's late night' Hannah added sadly. 'The shops stay open until nine on Thursday nights'

'Rose, good news' The Doctor stated, looking over at her and absentmindedly dusting a patch of sandy granules gently from her shoulder. 'We're going shopping'

_**Thank you for reading it this far, I will try to update this on a fortnightly basis, depending on my workload. Reviews will be appreciated, bad or good.**_


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